Apple iPhones might get contactless payment feature thanks to Canadian startup acquisition

Photo by Thai Nguyen on Unsplash

It might be easier for small business owners with iPhones to accept payments on their mobile devices. The company is reportedly working on a feature that integrates contactless payment into the iPhone. Apple has allegedly been working on the service since 2020 when it acquired Canadian startup Mobeewave, which is known for developing tech that turns a phone into a payment portal.

Mobeewave's technology only required an app and the phone's NFC to work. You just have to type in the amount you want to charge, and then the customer needs to tap their credit card on the back of the phone. Apple has declined to comment on Bloomberg's story, so it's unclear if the feature will work the same way on iPhones. 

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Apple reportedly buys Montreal-based Mobeewave for US$100m

Apple's rumoured recent acquisition is Montreal-based startup Mobeewave, specializing in developing tech that can turn mobile phones into mobile payment terminals. Mobeewave's technology can let shoppers tap their credit card or smartphone on another phone to process payments. It doesn't require any hardware beyond a Near Field Communications (NFC) chip and the accompanying app. iPhones have had NFC chips since 2014. A demonstration on Mobeewave's site shows a user typing in a transaction amount, and then the customer taps their credit card on the phone to process the payment.

Apple is known to acquire startups to integrate its technology into its devices. We're hoping to see iPhones of the future that can become mobile payment terminals, which can be particularly useful in the COVID-19 age where going digital or cashless is the preferred or safer payment method. Apple supposedly paid around US$100 million for Mobeewave, which has a dozen employees that the tech giant will retain. The Mobeewave team will reportedly continue to work out of Montreal.

Source: Bloomberg